At least 16 United Nations staff and dependents have been detained in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday, November 9, amid reports of widespread arrests of ethnic Tigrayans.
"We are, of course, actively working with the government of Ethiopia to secure their immediate release," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
Daniel Bekele, head of the commission, told Reuters on Tuesday that it was monitoring"the arrests of hundreds of Tigrayans in Addis Ababa". "The reports do tend to suggest an arrest based on ethnicity and that is something that if confirmed, we would strongly condemn. So whatever we can do to secure the release of these individuals, we will be prepared to do," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
Diplomatic efforts continue to try to lay the ground for talks and avert an attack on the Ethiopian capital, home to 5 million people. “He wanted to know if we believe there is the possibility of a political solution to this problem. We said yes,” he told Reuters. But, Getachew added, “we are not willing to retreat because of the siege, because of the blockade."
Reuters was unable to independently confirm his account as communications to those areas are down. Government and military spokespeople did not return calls seeking comment.
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